The epidemic of childhood obesity is talked about all the time, and has been for many years. Obesity in children is especially troubling because of the extensive health problems that can develop later in life. The earlier a child becomes obese, the more likely he or she will encounter serious medical concerns, including diabetes and heart disease.

If a child is dealing with being overweight, however, it extends beyond the home life and interactions with family members. In a recent survey by the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, parents are voicing further concern. Many parents are worried about the impact of bullying due to childhood obesity.

The hospital's National Poll on Children's Health showed parents with overweight or obese children are much more concerned about bullying at schools than parents with children at healthy weights. The poll questioned parents with children ages 6-13, bringing the bullying focus down to elementary and middle school.

"We found that parents with overweight or obese children actually view bullying as a greater problem than childhood obesity," says Dr. Matthew M. Davis, director of the poll, in a press release. The poll also reported that parents feel childhood obesity is the top health concern for children, but this statistic was taken from the opinions of all parents in the survey, not just those with overweight or obese children. As for parents with overweight kids, the fact that bullying would take the cake over the actual childhood obesity is startling.

Overweight and obese children are often the targets of bullies in schools, so parental concerns about bullying are certainly warranted. But is bullying really the larger problem, if you're comparing the two? If the obesity in children was the top concern across the board, and efforts from both parents and schools were directed at fixing this, perhaps the bullying, and in turn, the worries of parents about bullying, would fall.

This is not to say childhood obesity will disappear right away, or weight problems can simply be controlled with diet and exercise choices. Many other factors play into a child's weight, including environment, medical conditions and genetics. But weight problems at early ages can lead to a severe impact on health in the long run. The health of children, and their livelihoods as adults should overtake bullying in any contest.

For the full text of the National Poll on Children's Health, please go here.